Shot Through The Heart
by LibertyBellJar
Summary: Nozomi and Kengo have two things in common: a love for Hikari, and a distaste for each other. But, in hopes of winning over Hikari, they team up. Will it bring them closer to each other than it will to Hikari? Shootsdownshipping PenguinShipping Appealship
1. Weather Girls

Rated T for profanity and adult themes / Contains shoujo-ai, yuri content

The idea came up to do a ShootsDownShipping fic for whatever reason, and I came up with an idea I really loved, so I decided to roll with it. The chapters are going to be pretty short and sweet, and I'm planning for it to be a more lighthearted story--not really fluffy, just, fun. The main pairings are Nozomi and Kengo (duh), AppealShipping (Nozomi and Hikari), and PenguinShipping (Hikari and Kengo).

The title is derived from the awesome song _You Give Love A Bad Name_, and, even though this isn't really based around the song, it is sort of influenced by that and shares a lot of the same themes.

So, without further ado, enjoy, and remember feedback is love.

--

_"Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then." - Katharine Hepburn_

The cobalt hair cascaded down her gracefully arched back, the streams of unruly curls tumbling over each other and glinting sensuously in the summer sun. She mopped her brow--completely blemish-free--and turned her face and shining eyes skyward, as though entreating the sun for mercy. She apparently murmured a few words, but they did not register with her observer.The said voyeur felt sweat beading heavily on his forehead- and not just because of the unforgiving heat.

He was biting down more than a little strongly on his lower lip as he became aware of how weakly her yellow bikini bottom was clinging to her skin, how loose the tie at the back of her top was...

"Kengo?" He immediately lost any inkling of composure and tumbled over so that his shoulders were pressed into the gravelly sand and he was looking straight up at the figure towering over him.

"What's up?" Hyouta asked in a mockingly conversational tone.

"Just...um...b-birdwatching." Kengo felt his mouth go completely dry, now, at the worst possible moment. It didn't help that he was sprawled out on his back, the sand chaffing him and getting all up in his hair in a most unseemly fashion.

"Thanks, but I've also seen _Back to the Future_," Hyouta responded dryly. "Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you, it's just that some young ladies were concerned that you looked a tad suspicious..."

"I wasn't doing anything!" Kengo interjected, then turned red and attempted to backtrack as he realized how unwise it was to blow up at someone as rockhard as Hyouta. "It's just...I wasn't hurting, or, like, harassing anyone, and you can't i_prove_/i I broke any rules or anything--!"

Hyouta put his hands up, palms forward, in an effort to smooth things over. "Look, man, I'm not accusing you of anything, it's just, as a lifeguard, it's my duty to clear the beach of any harm, including potential predators..."

_Ouch_.

"...So, um, could you leave the beach? Just for the day, not, you know, permanently..."

Kengo felt his face flaming with humiliation as he quickly gathered up his bag and sunblock from underneath the bush where he'd been hiding and stumbled away from Hyouta and ran down the sidewalk. Everything seemed to get blurry and jumbled from that point on, like he'd just taken a swig of some drink made of vodka mixed with extract of mortification.

He wandered around the streets of the coastal market district, hardly hearing the jeers and cheers of the street vendors as the tried desperately to get the attention--and, more importantly, cash--of any passersby.

The waves and embarrassment and dizziness had subsided somewhat, and he heaved a deep sigh as he plopped himself down on the nearest vacant bench.

"What a way to screw up," he muttered to himself, kicking up the dirt underneath his feet in frustration. "It would've been a really nice to spend at the beach, and I go all stupid and hide under that bush, and--"

"Kengo, that you?" Oh God, deja vu.

He didn't want to turn around and see who was talking at him...what if it was Hyouta again? Dear lord, forget the beach, he was probably going to be asked to leave the whole freaking coastal district!--

"Hey, dude, answer me!" He felt the intruder's knuckles tap the back of his-_hard_-and turned around, trying to glare as fiercely as his soft eyes would allow, which, much to his chagrin, was not a whole lot.

"Oh, hi, Satoshi." Kengo's shoulders, which had been notably scrunched up, relaxed as he felt relief surge throughout himself.

"Nice to see you," Satoshi grinned. Kengo couldn't help but wince slightly when he saw a piece of broccoli or spinach or something caught between his temporary companion's teeth.

_So, not only does he fail to brush his hair, he doesn't floss, either?_

"What are you doing here?" Satoshi inquired, forcing Kengo out of his oral hygiene musings. "I mean, it's only, like, eleven, and you're wearing swim trunks, so it seems like you should be at the beach."

Kengo shrugged and glanced down at his orange trunks and white T-shirt.They were still covered in sand.

"I _was_ at the beach," he replied, continuing to look down at his feet. "But I got kicked off."

This surprised Satoshi, evidently, as his eyes widened and he leaned over the back of the bench, uncomfortably close to Kengo's head, and began optimistically digging for gossip-worthy details.

"Oh, really? What did you do? I mean, they're so lax there, I'd think you'd have to set off a _bomb_ or something to get kicked out..."

Kengo's face was red again, and he was looking ever more intently at his feet.

Satoshi was pressing closer against him with ever delayed second, and his overly drawn-out breaths were irritating Kengo's neck, so, in hopes that the trainer would back off, he curtly answered, "I was hiding under a bush and then Hikari walked by and I started spying on her." He forced himself to turn around, look up and glare at Satoshi. "Now will you stop mouth-breathing down my neck?"

Satoshi rolled his eyes, but he did take a few steps backward before continuing, "Well, whatever. That was kind of stupid to do."

_Thank you so much for your insightfulness_...

"It sucks you can't hang out at the beach, though. By the way," after saying thid, he grinned somewhat sheepishly and more than a tad mischievously. "Where can I find Hikari at the beach? She's in a bikini, right--"

His mouth clamped shut when he saw Kengo stand up, his mouth stretched into an improbably thin line, and his patience clearly at an end.

"Um, guess I'll see you later," Satoshi's smile changed from suggestive to nervous. "I was just messing arou-"

"Good bye," Kengo bade him shortly. Satoshi nodded his head, waved, and walked away swiftly if not steadily.

Kengo sank back down to his seat and exhaled heavily, leaning his neck over the back of the bench so he could see the beams of bright, midday sun. The clouds were beginning to congregate in large, grey patches. It was entirely possible that it would start raining withing a few short hours. He smiled a bit and felt strangely pleased as he thought, _It seems as if Hyouta and his spray-on tan will get washed out..._

--

It was not easy being Hikari. There was no way it was. Really, the average person could not comprehend just how difficult it was to keep your hair at the perfect balance between matte and glossy, to keep it smooth and frizz-free, yet coquettishly wavy at the same time. Not to mention maintaining a clear, glowing complexion and an absolutely aloof attitude, as well as trying to look natural as possible while wearing her signature "fuck me pumps"--and that SQUEAL...perfecting that shrill sound was an _art_.

Nozomi shook her hand, feeling oddly as if she should scold herself for her sardonic thoughts regarding her old friend..._friend_, how loosely she used that word.

Here she was, a twenty-three-year-old, sitting in the middle of a park where bums and stoners were considered regulars, being all lovelorn over someone to whom she hadn't spoken in person for years. Sure, they sometimes saw each other, exchanged pleasantries, chatted on the phone and wrote five-page e-mails, but it had been so long since they'd actually _talked_. She was being too...too dark, too harsh. She had had lovely times with Hikari, and Hikari seemed to be fond of her, she was just busy. Nozomi twisted a piece of hair on her finger, and smiled a bit, in spite of herself. Memories of the blue-haired siren began flooding back. _Iris_had begun playing on her iPod, which perhaps triggered her bittersweet aura. The sky managed to complete the feeling, what with the fuzzy blanket encasing any bit of brightness and casting a sickly, yellowish-grey tint on every surface.

It was reminiscent pf the last time she and that irresistible little imp had spoken face-to-face. They had been in Celestic Town for some reason she couldn't recall, and they were both somewhat depressed, as the contest season was now over, and Satoshi's Sinnoh journey had ended, so they both had to move on to other places. She and Hikari ended up sitting at a picnic table made of old, decaying wood, in the shadow of several dark-wooded, sinister looking trees and an impending storm. Nozomi had thought it very romantic, but Hikari did not share the sentiment, apparently. Even though the little park located strategically near the famous ruins was quite placid and rather safe, Hikari's nerves were all on end, and she kept fidgetting and complaining audibly. Nozomi felt herself growing more and more annoyed, as she knew this would be their last chance to get together for awhile, and she didn't want it to be ruined by Hikari's ill-at-ease attitude.

"We're going out different ways," she began, but, much to her perturbation, Hikari cut her off by waving a hand in her face.

"Can we stop talking about this unimportant stuff?" Hikari asked, resting her chin on the back of her free hand. "If I have to sit in this abysmal place, I may as well actually be interested."

"You don't think our futures our important?" Nozomi tried not to sound as frustrated as she felt, since she didn't want to end her last discussion with Hikari on a sour note. She took a deep, yoga-esque breath, and, when she was certain Hikari wouldn't interrupt her a second time, she continued, "It's just, both of us are done coordinating in Sinnoh, and I'm going back to Johto to get ready for college, and you're off to the Orange Islands--"

"They're called the Sevii Islands now," Hikari corrected her.

Nozomi frowned and ignored the amendment.

"...And you're going there to enter contests, so I don't know when, or if, we'll see each other again. I..." Here she began to falter a bit and looked down at the tabletop rather than at Hikari. "...I just want you to know, our time together has really meant a lot to me..."

Hikari's face softened, and she beamed sympathetically at Nozomi. "It's meant a lot to me, too! I mean, you helped me so much with my outfits and hair stuff..."

_Is that all I am to her? A stylist?_

"And you're, like, the coolest person I know!"

_Oh, so a HIP stylist_...

"I'll miss you more than anyone else...I wish I was old enough to apply to college, or that my mom would let me go as far as Johto." She seemed genuinely saddened, and Nozomi felt her cool exterior melt away, and her heart flutter in a most cliched manner.

"Hikari," she murmured, but her heartthrob put a finger gingerly to her lips and batted her eyes.

"Wha--" Nozomi never finished the syllable, as Hikari gripped her shoulders and pulled her torso closer to her own.

"Don't tell me," Hikari whispered with a grin. Nozomi wasn't quite sure what this was supposed to mean, except that Hikari had been listening to the mixtape she'd made her.

Without a moment of hesitation, Hikari pulled in Nozomi forcefully and kissed her, her pouty lips perfectly curled, her glittering eyes clamped shut. Nozomi was taken aback for a moment, but quickly warmed up to the idea and placed her hands around Hikari's waist and kissed back with as much force as that with which Hikari had started. It was slightly awkward embracing each other and kissing over the top of an old picnic table, but, nevertheless, the kiss lasted all of eleven seconds--Nozomi had checked her pokétch--before Hikari withdrew and sat back down, bashfully placing her hands in her lap.

"Sorry, it just freaked me out that HE was watching," she explained, gesturing to a nearby ancient statue of a fiercesome looking Ursaring.

Nozomi leaned over the table, and looked into Hikari's eyes, their faces so close that Nozomi's bangs tickled Hikari's forehead.

"Then maybe we should find someplace a little more private..."

Suddenly and without warning, a voice exploded from behind them, "Hikari? Good, I'm SO-O-O glad I found you!"

Nozomi spun around at the sound of this intrusion, her face growing crimson as her irritation intensified.

"What _is_ it?!" she snapped, before her brain had fully processed who the third party was.

"I just needed to see Hikari!" the said third party hollered back. Nozomi half-stepped, half-stumbled backward when she realized it was Kengo. Kengo, that annoying little braggart, that stupid excuse of a coordinator who had a knack for showing up and ruining a wonderful moment...the childhood friend who'd fallen just as hard for Hikari as Nozomi had.

"Can it wait?" she queried, trying to sound softer, knowing the situation had to be handled delicately. Not that she actually cared about Kengo's feelings, but if she was too discourteous toward him, Hikari might well hold her in contempt, something she couldn't risk.

"I don't think so," Kengo returned, openly glowering at her. "The shuttle to Sandgem's pier is about to leave, and Hikari and I both need to be on it."

Nozomi couldn't stop her eyes from widening in shock.

"A-are you going to the Sevii Islands together?" she croaked.

"No," Kengo sighed, obviously disappointed that that wasn't the case. "My parents want me back in the Sandgem-Twinleaf area so I can go to school there." By this time, Hikari had come over to them and was standing at Nozomi's side.

"Kengo!" Hikari exclaimed, furthering Nozomi's exasperation. "I can't _believe_they're making you stay in Twinleaf! Why won't they let you keep traveling?!"

Kengo shrugged and blushed a bit, clearly flustered by Hikari's overreaction.

"Uh, it's just they thought two years away from home was enough," he stammered out. "When I took the academic exams this year, I barely passedI barely passed, so they want me back in school for a few years...I guess I can start traveling again once I get my grades up."

"I'm so sorry! I'll miss you SO much!" Hikari wailed, causing Nozomi to roll her eyes and sneer at Kengo.

She then cut Hikari short by uttering, "Yeah, it's a damned shame. Now, Kengo, could you go awa-"

Kengo shot her a dirty look and went on, "We need to get over to the shuttle NOW...I don't know how much longer it'll be here."

Hikari grasped Nozomi's arm and looked forlornly at her before stepping away and saying, "I'm so sorry, Nozomi, but if I don't leave now, I might not make it in time to my ship...I'll be sure to stay in touch! I really will!" Nozomi smugly noted that the sorry directed at her sounded much more sincere than the one Hikari had given Kengo.

"Good luck," she called softly as Hikari walked away with Kengo. She briefly admired the view from behind Hikari, when Kengo turned around and stuck his tongue out at her. Nozomi promptly gave him the finger.

She was abruptly snapped out of her reminiscing when someone--presumably a jogger or a drunk or some sort of combination of the two--had the nerve to nearly crash into her. She folded the copy of the Jubilife Times she had been reading and crossed her legs, trying to look as irked as possible. Couldn't a person just sit on a crusty old bench at a shady park and read her newspaper and listen to pop-punk-whatever-the-hell-it-was-rock on her iPod without being disturbed?--

"I'm really, really sorry," she heard the as-of-yet unidentified klutz pant. Apparently, they were a most tired out klutz. "I was just trying to get back to my apartment, and I kind of slipped..."

The person unexpectably stopped talking, and, to her ever-increasing annoyance, Nozomi was forced to look up from her MP3 player to see just what the issue was. She had to stifle a cynical laugh when she recognized the face before her.

"Oh, joy," she drawled. "If it isn't my best buddy, Kengo."


	2. Metaphorically Speaking

Rated T for profanity, mild sexual references

_Here's chapter the second...I really enjoyed writing this one and hopefully it'll help clear up SOME of the confusion generated in the first. I'm terribly sorry I didn't get this up sooner--I've just had trouble getting back into the non-summer schedule (excuses, excuses)._

--

_"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down."_

--

Kengo felt the color in his cheeks flare up for what must have been the fiftieth time that day. On the list of people he'd like to run into, Nozomi was somewhere between John Wayne Gacy and Miley Cyrus, so his reaction to seeing her was somewhere between anxiety and outright terror.

"Kengo, Kengo," she cracked the silence, her tone almost mocking, and certainly disparaging. "Your timing is as immaculate as always. Really, you chose the _very moment_ when I was feeling most inimical toward you to make your appearance."

During this little interlude, Nozomi had picked up her newspaper and began reading again, as though nothing of consequence had occurred.

Kengo tried to say something, but it just came out in the jumbled form of, "I...u-uh...you, how are? I mean-- sorry?"

_Thanks for bailing out_ again, _mouth_...

Nozomi glanced up momentarily from her mixed media and remarked, "It's been quite awhile, hasn't it? Last time I saw you, it was just before your eighteenth birthday..."

"Oh, uh, no, actually." Kengo's voice had returned, along with at least some of his reasoning abilities. "There was that gala event thing in Hearthome, and I bumped into you accidentally and you called me a prick..."

"Ah, yes, of course," Nozomi akknowledged, sourness marring her cool tone. "I got pretty hammered that night, though, so you can't expect my memory to be crystal clear."

Kengo was beginning to feel sick to his stomach, and didn't know what to say, so he just nodded his head, and tried not to look too ill.

Nozomi flipped a page of the paper as she causually commented, "So, I heard about your little incident at the beach..."

Kengo had unintentionally begun to look her over, and became distracted, so he hardly heard what she said. It wasn't surprising, given that she was so...i_distracting_/i looking. There were lots of little but very bold details, like the green liner at the corners of her eyes, and the glittery, gold-colored laces in her low-tops.

"Um, yeah," he replied absently, not having paid attention to her words. Those shoes were pretty cool...she seemed to have a keen eye for accessories. Even though they'd met up at contests where, fashionably, she'd been at the top of her game, he'd never noticed just how well put together her outfits were. He could feel Nozomi's eyes drilling through his forehead as he examined the hem of her pants, and, realizing what he was doing and how odd it must have looked, he shook himself out of his trance and looked up at Nozomi's face. It was not amused.

"Your incident at the beach?" she repeated, hoping to drive the point home. "You know, lying beneath foliage, checking out Hikari's--"

"Aagh! How do i_you_/i know about that?!" If his face was red before, then it must be stark white now. His horror seemed to please Nozomi to no end, as her eyes began to gleam and she gave him a toothy smile.

"I guess that one struck a nerve," she concluded cheerfully, returning to her publication."Oh, and to answer your question, Hyouta told his girlfriend Natane, who mentioned it to Mikan, who _knew_ I'd get a kick out of it, since we're tight and all..."

"Who's Mikan?" Some bloodflow had returned to Kengo's head, allowing him to think at least somewhat coherently, and making him as curious as he was dizzy.

"Oh, she was the Olivine gymleader," Nozomi informed him without looking up. "She lives in Sunyshore now, and is also one of the top coordinators in the region." She paused and smiled as if remembering some secret joke before continuing, "She's also completely awesome...if you were actually cool enough to associate, I might introduce you."

Kengo ignored the jab to the best of his ability and tried to make some semblance of polite conversation with Nozomi, though she was clearly bored with him, and, at this point, it was a lost cause.

"So, it must be neat to be close to someone that, um, important." Kengo winced slightly aftersaying the words. They sounded more insipid out loud than they had in his head.

"I guess so."

He found himself looking over her again...she had a quite flashy style. Everything, from the scarlet-lined tweed jacket to the fat, metallic belt to the well-fit jade-green trousers seemed to be a magnet for attention. But her hair--that just took the cake, so to speak. She had abandoned her relatively tame, monotone hair for bold color combos, presumably to attract some attention from the hipster crowd after her career hit something of a dry spell. Kengo hadn't seen her in full-light for some time, and, in the sunlight, dim as it was that day, it was shocking, all fiery oranges with highlights and mottles of canary yellow and a deep tone of red. Of course, dying one's hair cornea-scorchingly bright colors isn't nearly enough, so she had teased her mane to a ridiculous level, so it formed a twisted and curly halo on the top of her head.

Strangely, perhaps because her hair was short enough to keep it from looking TOO unkempt, it worked for her, and rather well at that. Maybe it was just because she was Nozomi and had the self-importance that allowed her to get away with whatever the hell she wanted.

Kengo shook himself out of the rather bizarre tangent he had gone off on, again, and noticed Nozomi had resumed reading her periodical and that not a word had been spoken for several minutes.

Nozomi seemed completely comfortable, as though she were the only person in the vicinity, while Kengo felt increasing awkward and anxious. He wanted to make at least _some _progress with Nozomi. She made him feel very much uncomfortable, yet, he was intrigued by her, and wanted to fight out more about her, however treacherous that attempt may be.

"Well," he broke the silence uneasily. "...I like your hair."

"You're welcome," she replied shortly, checking her fingertip to make sure that she hadn't inadvertently given herself a papercut.

"And, uh, I didn't know you were in town. Are you on vacation?" he forged on, optimistic he would break through to her again.

"You could say that." Her tone indicating a hightening degree of exasperation, but Kengo continued pressing forward, kept trying to force a conversation.

_He's either much more strong-willed or much less intelligent than I give him credit for_.

Kengo gritted his teeth and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He was beginning to feel just as vexed as Nozomi. THIS was why he'd never tried to talk to her before--she'd always been rude and stuck-up and irritable, and he'd always been at odds with the hothead, ever since his first contest when they'd met. She'd just been so-- Kengo stopped himself. It wouldn't do any goodto dig up old garbage and get upset about it. He just needed to extract himself from the situation before one of them became frustrated to the point of lashing out.

"Anyway, I have to go," he declared coolly, in a failed attempt to adopt Nozomi's aloofness. "I have some...plans to make." There, that was good. He would seem mysterious, composed, and almost arrogant. Like some kind of old-fashioned-but-really-badass spy. Maybe even badass enough to one-up Nozomi.

This briefly aroused Nozomi's interest, and she even looked up from the Times, making Kengo feel rather pleased with himself; that is, until she asked in a rather smug manner, "Are you 'planning' to do something dangerous?"

Her facial expression was completely serious, but her tone of voice conveyed derisive amusement. Kengo was caught off guard, and lost his sense of coolheadedness. She could be so condescending with just a simple string of words and a nuance of voice. It was all he could do to respond feebly, "Um, yeah, kind of."

Nozomi nodded her head with an air of authority and went back to the newsprint.

"In that case, you have my full support," she asserted.

Well, he couldn't let her finish him off like THAT! He regained his meager confidence from some sort of misplaced belief that he absolutely had to shut Nozomi up once and for all with a real zinger. He removed his hands from the pockets of his swim trunks before realizing with mortification that, yes, he was indeed still wearing his swim trunks, and that he had been wearing them for the entirety of his encounter with Nozomi.

It was bad enough to have _sounded_ stupid in front of her, but to LOOK this moronic...he may as well have abandoned any hope of ever having any respect from her that very moment. Perhaps the combination of desperation, embarassment and competition-driven foolishness led him to make a brash and decidedly asinine retort, "That sounds like something BRA would say."

Without batting an eye, Nozomi looked over the top of her paper and rejoined, "_That's_ something a dick would say."

She said this with emphatic finality, and Kengo was forced to concede taht he had lost the little game that had been going on between them, without either being fully aware it had been in play.

As should be expected, Kengo was left wordless, and Nozomi was back to her own little world. Kengo cleared his throat and shuffled his feet a bit before turning away from the bench,

"I'm leaving now," he managed to announce, with an embarrassing squeak to his voice. "For real this time."

After the words flew out of his mouth, he mentally kicked himself for how stupid he sounded.

"Don't let the metaphorical door hit you on the way out," Nozomi called after him as he wobbled down the brick walkway in the opposite direction. Part of him wanted to spin around on his heels and utter a few choice obscenities, but, alas, he was too sore from his metaphorical pummeling, and, anyway, there were children milling about.

He simply pretended he hadn't heard Nozomi's verbal slap to the face and strode through the gate of the park, hoping this was the end of his adversities for the day.

Needless to say, it wasn't.

--

Wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand, he pressed himself against the finicky front door, hoping he would have better luck than he normally did. It decided to open easily for once, but Kengo had not been expecting this, and used too much force, sending himself flying across the cramped lobby.

"Nice, Kengo," a voice emanated from the corner of the room. "Real smooth."

Kengo was too dazed at the moment to make a snarky response, so he simply grunted and tried to busy his hands with brushing nonexistent dust off his shirt.

The young man sitting in a folding chair a few feet away from Kengo adjusted his rectangular glasses and made an effort to look very scornful.

"You've had a crappy day," he diagnosed without Kengo even having said anything to him. "I can just tell."

"I don't need other people telling me what an awful state I'm in," Kengo snapped. "I just had to put up with a morning full of that."

"No need to get so defensive..." The seated youth tried to sound innocent and nonchalant, though he knew full well his previous comment would have provoked Kengo. "You're usually such a lovely guy."

He smiled kindly, and Kengo scowled at being called "lovely".

"I think we could have a good day," the young man schmoozed on. "I just need a little help from you."

Kengo rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but a little interested, and a little bit hopeful that maybe he could turn his awful luck around.

"Just tell me what you want," he sighed.

After hearing this, Kouhei lit up and his eyes gleamed, and Kengo chose to ignore this inauspicious sign.

"I'm so glad you've obliged," Kouhei smiled, taking what appeared to be a folded shopping list out of his pocket and standing up from his chair. He walked into the adjacent hallway, and, warily, Kengo followed him.

--

After Kengo was out of eye-and-ear-shot, Nozomi had tossed aside her newspaper and walked out of the park. She wandered along the sidewalk, the familiar path to her favorite little hiding spot. It was much too early to get a drink there, but she could get a soda, and her caffeine-deprived headache indicated that she should.

It shouldn't be too far from the coastal district to the old pub, and, even if it was, ambling down the thicky shaded sidewalk was really pleasant in the thick and fuzzy summer air. The cloud cover had made it somewhat cooler, but it wasn't yet raining, so being outdoors was more enjoyable than it had been for the past week.

She approached the old, run-down buildings at the heart of the town, and finding an uncommonly large tree to lean against, she rested for a moment as she flipped her lime-green cellphone and selecting her first speed-dial contact.

"Hey Mikan!" she chimed before her recipient had a chance to offer a salutation.

"Oh, hi!" Mikan sounded vaguely relieved in the beguilingly timid way she had. "What's going on?"

"Eh, nothing much," Nozomi replied, feigning carelessly. "You know who I just ran into?"

"Oh good lored." Nozomi could practically see Mikan shaking her head indisbelief and amusement. "You didn't get in a fight or something, did you? You KNOW I'm stuck in Sunyshore, and if you get into trouble, I can't come and bail you out--"

"Relax," Nozomi interrupted. "There wasn't a scuffle...I just caught up with an old friend." i_How loosely we use the word 'friend'._/i

"Somehow I don't think you just had a lovely little chat with them," Mikan remarked dryly. "Who was it, though?"

"Here's two clues: one, bad helmet hair; two, total douchebag."

Mikan was silent for a minute before faltering as she responded, "Oh, you weren't i_too_/i mean to the kid, were you?"

Nozomi became bristled at this, and asked sharply, "What are you talking about? I'm not 'mean'...you don't even know him! He's not some poor, lost little boy, he's just--"

"Calm down! That's not what I was getting at," Mikan briskly redressed herself. "It's just that you tend to overreact or get too worked up about stuff, and, when you get impetuous like you do, you might end up hurting someone who's less...worldly."

"Kengo's not traumatized," Nozomi told her firmly, her impatience becoming evident. "Besides, I'm sure if he wasn't kept in line, he'd walk all over me. Guys like him need to

be slapped around once in awhile. All men do."

"You don't mean that literally, do you?" Mikan groaned.

"No. Not for now, at least."

"Okay then," Mikan wearied, apparently all but worn out from the rather ardent colloquy. "I have to get off now. There's another call coming in; I think it's Fantina."

"All right...I guess I'll have to let you go, then," Nozomi acknowledged reluctantly. "Ill try to get back to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure." Mikan then disconnected the call.

Nozomi exhaled in a huff, folded her phone and tossed it into her messenger bag. She looked across the street at the row of old buildings, her favorite tavern sandwiched in the middle. Maybe some alcohol i_would_/i be in order...


End file.
